Ulufaalu, Bartholomew

Born on December 25, 1950, in the village of Laulassi, on one of the islands of the Langalang lagoon, which is part of the province of Malaita . ^[1] From 1966 to 1967, he attended St. Joseph’s school in Tenara, and from 1967 to 1969, Aruligo High School. In 1970 he entered the University of Papua - New Guinea , whence he graduated in 1974 with a bachelor 's degree in economics. ^[one]

From 1974 to 1975 he led the project he founded to create a sawmill in the Bina settlement. In 1975, he created the National Union of Workers of the Solomon Islands, remaining its leader until 1976 . ^[1] In addition, in 1975, he founded the National Democratic Party , which successfully participated in the general parliamentary elections of 1976 , winning 8 of the 38 seats in the Legislative Assembly. ^[2] At the same election, Ulufaalu became a representative from the Eastern Honiara constituency. ^[one]

In the elections of 1980, the National Democratic Party acted less successfully, having received only representation in the parliament in two mandates. Subsequently, the party went into opposition. However, when Francis Billy Hilly’s “Independent Group” refused to support the Kenilorea government in 1981, Solomon Mamaloni became the country's new prime minister, and Ulufaalu became the finance minister. ^[one]

On October 24, 1984, he was re-elected to parliament, moving from the National Democratic Party to the Liberal Party of the Solomon Islands . ^[3] In 1988, he founded the Solomon Islands Farmers Association. ^[1] In the 1989 elections , he was again re-elected to parliament, but he soon resigned to pass to the legislature from the Aoke-Langalang constituency. However, the election lost. ^[3] In 1992, he was an economic adviser to the government of the Solomon Islands, and in 1994, he was an adviser to the National Democratic Party / Liberal Party on social security issues. ^[one]

On August 6, 1997, he was reelected to the country's parliament from the district of Aoke-Langalang (later represented this district after the elections of 2001 and 2006 ). ^[1] On August 27, 1997, he took part in the parliamentary vote for the post of prime minister, defeating Danny Philip (Ulufaalu received the support of 26 parliamentarians, and Philip - 22), thus becoming the new prime minister of Solomon Islands. ^[4] In its political program, the new government announced major reforms in the country, including measures to rationalize the public sector, reduce the number of ministerial portfolios (from 16 to 10), expand the share of the private sector in the country's economy, and encourage greater participation non-governmental organizations in the socio-economic development of the Solomon Islands. These measures, according to the government, were supposed to help restore economic stability and attract foreign investment. ^[four]

In early 1998, the first cargo arrived from the United States with military equipment, which was ordered by the previous administration in order to protect the maritime border with Papua New Guinea . Because of fears that non-governmental organizations (primarily the rebels of the island of Bougainville ) may intercept a valuable cargo, Ulufaalu appealed to the Australian government for help in protecting military equipment. As a result, the former Prime Minister Mamaloni accused Ulufaal of high treason, since he actually transferred state property to a foreign state. Nevertheless, the current Prime Minister announced problems with the delivery of weapons, mentioning a few missing and an obvious overpayment for military equipment. ^[four]

Despite the fact that Ulufaalu initiated a number of economic reforms (including, he started the fight against corruption), he several times faced the possibility of issuing a vote of no confidence (in November 1997 , April 1998 and September 1998 ).

The second half of Ulufalu’s premiership was marked by the beginning of an ethnic conflict on Guadalcanal Island, during which the Guadalcanal guerrillas launched a campaign of intimidation and violence against settlers from Malaita Island . As a result of the conflict, thousands of people from Malaita were forced to return to their homeland or flee to the capital of the Solomon Islands, the city of Honiara . In 1999, in response to ethnic cleansing, the residents of Malaita created the “Forces of the Malay Eagles” ( English Malaita Eagle Force ). At the end of 1999, the government introduced a state of emergency on the islands. In addition, several unsuccessful attempts were made to reconcile the conflicting parties.

In June 2000, he was seized by representatives of the Forces of Malayit Eagles, who believed that, despite his Malayan origin, he had not taken enough measures to protect the interests of the inhabitants of this province. ^{[5] [6]} On June 13, 2000, Ulufaalu was forced to resign in exchange for his release. ^[7] As a result, Manasse Sogavare became the new prime minister.

After the 2006 parliamentary elections , the Liberal Party, headed by Ulufalu, created with the independent parliamentarians and four political parties the “Big Coalition for Change,” whose main goal was to remove the ruling coalition of the Popular Alliance Party (led by Allan Kemakez ) and the Association of Independent Members of Parliament (in led by Snyder Renee ). ^[8] However, Sogavare, who led the coalition social credit party, left the Grand Coalition for Change, after being denied nomination to the post of prime minister. Subsequently, he supported Rini and became Minister of Commerce.

After Snyder Rini was elected on April 18, 2006, new Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands riots broke out in the country, the participants of which believed that the government of the new prime minister would be under the excessive influence of Chinese entrepreneurs, as well as the governments of both mainland China and the island of Taiwan . ^{[9] [10] [11]} As a result, Sogavare went over to the side of the “Grand Coalition for Change,” becoming Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands in May 2006 . ^[12]

Olufaalu had major health problems, including he suffered from diabetes , because of which in 2004 he had a leg amputated. ^{[13] [14]} Despite this, from May to October 16, 2006, Ulufaalu served as Minister of Finance. ^[1] In June 2006, the illness policy worsened, and for several weeks he was forced to withdraw from his ministerial duties. Nevertheless, after his recovery, he again became Minister of Finance.

Died May 25, 2007 in the capital of the Solomon Islands, the city of Honiara , from diabetes. ^{[1] [15]}